The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History on Friday broke ground on an 8,700-square-foot expansion to its research center.

Once complete, the Southern Museum will be home to one of the largest centers for researchers, scholars and historians studying southeastern railroads of the United States.

The Museum’s extensive archives collection includes more than 45,000 rare railroad photographs through the David W. Salter Collection, a one-of-a-kind glass plate negative collection of Glover Machine Works locomotives and thousands of Southern Railway-related documents through the Southern Railway Historical Association Collections.

“We are fortunate that our collection of documents, letters, and artifacts has expanded at the rate it has. But, in order to continue to grow, we need a larger facility,” said Dr. Richard Banz, executive director of the Southern Museum. “The expansion will be a world-class facility that will serve as a permanent place to preserve, interpret and, most importantly, make these important artifacts accessible to researchers.”

The $1.1 million expansion project is expected to be completed this spring.